1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to traffic barricades, and more particularly, to traffic barricades of the type that are used to warn motorists and pedestrians of hazardous conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traffic barricades are well known objects in and around highways and construction sites. Such barricades are typically made of wood crossbars and for metal legs and are in the form of an A-frame that may be folded to be transported on the back of a truck. The A-frames are generally formed in such a manner that they present a slanting area containing a reflective paint such that oncoming motorists can easily see the barricade by the reflected light off of the barricade from their headlights. Barricades positioned along roadways are frequently struck by automobiles or otherwise damaged in handling in transit. Suchbarricades are usually fairly expensive and are used in great quantities. The destruction of the barricades represents a non-recoverable expense that can amount to substantial sums when significant construction, and therefore substantial demand, is undertaken.
Attempting to cheapen the construction of such barricades usually renders the barricades either unreliable or incapable of performing their primary warning function. An additional expense encountered in the usage of prior art barricades is represented by the cost of erecting and disassembling, together with transporting, the barricades to and from the job site. For example, it is quite common for several hundred barricades to be placed along a roadway wherein construction is being undertaken, and wherein several truck loads of the barricades must be transported to the site and meticulously placed in position by the workers only to have to be retrieved by the same workmen when the job is complete. The bulk occupied by such prior art barricades requires substantial storage area and thus either several trips by a single pickup truck or several pickup trucks to gather the barricades.
The Federal Highway Administration has developed regulations regarding devices used on federal highways to control traffic, and such regulations are generally followed by state, county, and city government traffic engineers. A recent 1978 regulation promulgated by the Federal Highway Administration states that no barricades shall be made from any material that would cause damage to any object striking it. In collisions between vehicles and barricades of the metal and wooden type, damage often results to the colliding vehicle, and litigation involving such damage is widespread. Furthermore, barricades having a relatively high center of gravity can be propelled into the air through such collisions and strike workmen or other vehicles.
Other traffic barricades are provided with flashing warning lights for increasing their visibility after dark. Typically, such warning lights are separated constructed, relatively heavy units secured to the upper portion of the wooden and metal barricades. Such lighting units have been known to cause severe property damage and personal injury when struck by a vehicle or another object.
Traffic barricades having a base portion for being weighted by dirt or other ballast material are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,690,620 and 4,104,980 disclose barricades having surfaces which can be weighted with ballast material. However, such prior art barricades will not prevent dirt or other loose ballast material from shifting or falling out of the barricade in strong winds or heavy rains; eventually, such barricades will no longer be properly anchored and will tip over. Furthermore, when such barricades are used in conjunction with freshly prepared road surfaces (new black top, newly painted road markings, etc.), dirt shifting off of the ballasting surface of the barricade can ruin the adjacent freshly prepared surface.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade that can be stored in a flat, thin form to occupy very little space and thus significantly reduce the transportation and storage space required.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade that can be manufactured very cheaply and wherein the expense of the barricade is small enough to permit the barricade to be disposed of after use.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade that can be manufactured inexpensively while being sufficiently strong and weather resistant to be reuseable for as long as or longer than barricades currently in use.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade that is readily assembleable while nevertheless providing a sturdy structure that can be discarded when the requirement for a barricade ends.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade that can cheaply yet ruggedly be constructed so that the barricade may either be disposed of after useage or may easily be disassembled for reuse.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade which can be manufactured inexpensively while complying with all current Federal Highway Administration guidelines and substantially reducing the possibilities of damage to a vehicle or other object striking the barricade.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade having a warning light constructed as to cause no damage to any object striking the barricade.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a traffic barricade which can be anchored with dirt or other loose ballast material while preventing the dirt or loose ballast material from shifting or falling off of the barricade.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.